Liquid manure spreader



@ci 3G), 339ml J. H. BRODIE 573,117@

LIQUID MANURE SPREADER. Filed Jan. 19, 1951 2 SHEETS- SHEET 1 Inventar A Ituri/Uy Siri., 0?@9 H, BRODIE LIQUID MANURE SPREADER 2 SHEETS--SHEET 2 Filed Jan. 19, 1951 drawings illusirat Patented Oct. 30, 1951 UNITED- srAr-Es PATENT OFFICE 3,573,17@ LIQUID. MANURE' SEBEAPER lames 1 i- Brodie,` Hendersen, N Gf @alterneranno 19, 195.1I serial No. 206,830

s'ciaims, (C1. 29e- ,299

This invention relates toa portable machine, -preferably of` the trailertype-adapted to be drawn by any suitable draft vehicle such as Ya tractor, for dispensing and spreading liquid manure;

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a machine which -is capable of eiciently dispensing and spreading liquid manure as it is received from barns and stables, suchas dairy barns including relatively large particles of manure in solid or semi-solid form whichrnay be efficiently dispensed and spread'by the machine Without danger of clogging the machine or its control valve. Y

More particularly, it is an aimvcf the present invention to provide a lspreader for rough liquidv manure which will eiectively prevent the clogging of the machine by manure particles and wherein any choked or clogged condition can be readily eliminated by operation of -a movable valve element, so that the roughest liquid manure may be spread upon and used to fertilize the soil without requiring any screening or other processing, thus enabling particles of fibre passing through animals which produce a perfect manure mulch when sprayed upon -the land to be dispensed from the machine.

Modern farmingprocedure involves` the cleaning of barns and stables with high pressure water hoses and-the water and manure is washed `from the barns or stables intol large vats. Such liquid manure provides an eXtrenf-ielyl rich fertilizer particularly in its unprocessed `state as received from thebarn or stable. Accordingly, lit is a primaryobject of the present invention .to provide a machiney capable of utilizing this liquid manure, normally discharged as waste into creeksJ forffertilizing the land andby means of which machine the unprocessed liquidmanure may be rapidly sprayed orbroadcast by .gravity onto the land.

Another and important object of the invention l machine may be enerated by the .driver Qi a ltractor or other draft vehicle to which the machine is connected `fer. very rapidly ertiliaing a relatively larsearea. f ground.

Various other objects andr advantagesel the invention will hereinafter become `mere fully anparerit from the renewingdeeeri 101.11 of e ererred ern- Irre-a preeentlvrr ereef nd wherein: -1fieafs1de ,elevatierial View partly irl tra eeuplirrefl The an. upwardly @arteriales endet 28, having Vertical section of the machine taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line I-l of Figure 2;

Figure 2 is a top plan viewof* the machine, partly in horizontal section;

Figure 3 is an end elevational View, partly in cross'. section thereof taken substantially along a planeas indicated by the line 5-3 of Figure 1; Figure 4 is an end elevational View looking toward the opposite, rear end of theV machineor fronleft to right ofy Figures 1 and Zand showing certain of the parts in vertical section;

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal vertical sectional view, partlyr in side elevation taken substantially'along a plane as indicated bythe line 5--5 of Figure 2;

' 4gure 6 is a horizontal sectional View taken taken substantially along a planeas indicated by the line 8-8 of Figure 7.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the liquid manure spreader in its entirety is designated generally lil and includes amobile supporting frame composed ofv a frame or chassis I I 4having a pair of rear wheels I2 journaled on a rear axle I3 and a pair of front steering wheels I4 jour-naled on a front axle I5 and which are 'conheated by a conventional steering link connection I6 between the front Wheels I4 for causing said front Wheelstoswing in unison on the ends of the axle I5. A draft -tongue I'I is pivotedto the front axle YI5 and steering link connection I6, as seen at Isfand i9, respectively (Figure l), for causing the front wheels ifi to. be steered so as to'follow a draft vehicle, lnot shown, to which Ythe forward end 2i) of thetongue Il' is coupled in a conventional manner.

A large tank 2| is disposed on the frame Il, longitudinally thereof, and is Secured thereto by suitable bracket members Zzwhichare attached by fastenings 23 tocross members of the frame I I, asbestseenin vFigure 3. A small pump 2li of any Suitable type is secured'to the forward end ofthe trame l l, forwardly of tbe tank. 2. I and has er1 inlet 25 te h tbeeiseharee end. of a hose or flexible conduit 25 is detachablyconnected pump di is branded with an anelllarlv dien, ed rearwardly extending dis,- eberee end 29. which preieetethreueh the iront Wall 30 of the tank 2|, adjacent the top of said tank.

A relatively large outlet conduit 3| has one end thereof extending through the rear wall 32 of the tank 2| and which opens into said tank adjacent its bottom, as best seen in Figure 5. The outlet conduit 3| is supported rearwardly of the tank 2| by the rear portion of the frame and has a downturned outlet end 33 which is disposed just beyond the rear ends of the longitudinal beams of the frame and which is suitably secured to or formed integral with an elongated valve housing 34. As seen in Figure 5, the discharge end. 33 of the conduit 3| opens into the valve housing 34 and is disposed intermediate of the ends thereof, as seen in Figure 2. The valve housing 34 is rigidly supported by the rear end of the frame transversely of the machine lll and is of a length substantially equal to the gauge of the machine wheels. Housing 34 is preferably formed from a relatively large pipe the internal diameter of which is substantially equal to the diameter of the conduit 3|. Valve housing 34 is provided with externally threaded ends for threadedly receiving closure caps 35 each of which is preferably provided With a handle 36 to facilitate applying and removing the caps 35. The bottom portion of the valve housing 34 is provided with an elongated relatively wide slot 31 which extends to adjacent f the ends thereof. A pair of guide plates 38a is secured to the underside of the valve housing 34 and depend therefrom. The plates 38a are located just beyond both ends of the slot 31.

A pair of elongated yoke members 38 are disposed for vertical sliding movement relatively to the valve housing 34 each including a pair of substantially parallel legs 39 which straddle the housing 34 and which are connected at their lower ends by a cross bar 40 below the valve housing 34. 'I'he upper ends of the legs 39 of each yoke 38 are integrally connected by an upper cross bar 4|. The upper cross bars 4| of the yokes 38 are rigidly connected in spaced substantially parallel relationship by a connecting bar 42. The connecting bar 42 is provided with upright sleeve portions 43 at the ends thereof, as seen in Figure 2, which align with openings 44 of the cross bars 4| to slidably receive the upper portions of guide rods 45 which are fixed to and rise from the upper surface of the valve housing 34 for guiding the yokes 38 in their vertical reciprocating movement. An expansion coil spring 46 is mounted on each rod 45. Each spring 46 has a lower end bearing against'the housing 34 and an upper e nd bearing against a yoke portion 4| for urging the connected yokes 38 upwardly relatively to the housing 34. An elongated valve member 41 of circular cross section is sup- Ll O connected to a threaded rod 5| which is slidably disposed in and projects from the upper end of the housing of the gate valve 49. A bearing bracket 52 is secured to and projects rearwardly from the rear tank wall 32 and has a vertically disposed bearing 53 which is located directly above the gate valve 49 in which is journaled a sleeve 54. The sleeve 54 is supported and retained against vertical displacement relatively to the bearing 53 by a pair of thrust collars 55 which are detachably secured thereto and which bear against the upper and lower ends of the bearing 53. Sleeve 54 is provided with a threaded bore 56 which extends therethrough from end-toend thereof in which the upper portion of the threaded rod 5| threadedly engages. The sleeve 54 is provided at its upper end with a beveled gear 51 which meshes with a beveled gear 58. The bearing bracket 52 is provided with an upright bearing 59 which engages a groove 60 of a hub 6| of the beveled gear 58 for journaling the beveled gear 58 and supporting it in meshing engagement with the beveled gear 51.

A pair of bearings 62 are secured on and Arise from the top of the tank 2|, one of which is disposed intermediate of the ends of said tank and the other near the rear end of the tank. A shaft section 63 extends slidably through and is journaled in the bearings 62 and carries a pair of collars 64 which are adjustably secured thereto between the bearings 62 to adjustably limit the sliding movement of the shaft section 63 longitudinally of the tank 2 I. Rearwardly of the rear bearing 62, the shaft section 63 is provided with an elongated rigid key 65 and the portion of the shaft section provided with the key 65 extends slidably through and is keyed to the beveled gear 58, as best seen in Figure 5. If desired, the keyed portion of the shaft section 63 may be of noncircular cross section to t non-rotatably and slidably in the non-circular bore 56 of the beveled gear 58 and hub 6| or any other suitable connection may be formed between the shaft 63 and I beveled gear 58 to permit the shaft to slide through the beveled gear but to prevent the shaft from turning relatively to the beveled gear. A shaft section 61 is connected at its rear end by a universal joint 68 to the forward end of the shaft section 63, forwardly of the forward bearing 62 and extends forwardly to beyond the forward end of the tank 2|. A hand wheel 69 is secured Ato the forward end of the shaft section 61 and is disposed in a position to be conveniently engaged by the operator of a tractor or draft vehicle, not shown, to which .the tongue l1 is coupled, for a purpose which will hereinafter become apparent. A bar 10 is fixed to and rises from the top of the `tank 2| adjacent its forward end and as best seen ported near its two ends on the bottom cross bars 40 and is rigidly secured thereto by welds or the like as seen at 48 in Figure 5. Said cross bars 4l are similarly secured by additional welds 48 to the lower ends of the legs 39. The valve 41 is of a length equal to the length of the slot 31 and is sized to t into and close said slot 31 when the yokes 38 are displaced upwardly by the springs 46. The ends of the valve 41 bear against the guide plates 38a and are retained thereby in Figure 7, said bar 1|) is provided with a keyhole shaped opening including a relatively large circular upper portion 1| and a restricted lower portion 12. A collar 13, as best seen in Figure 8,

is adjustably secured to the shaft section 61 by a against displacement longitudinally of the housf ing 34 to insure proper seating of the valve 41 in the slot 31.

The outlet conduit 3| is provided with agate valve 49 intermediate of its ends including a gate 58 which is mounted for vertical sliding movement. The upper end of the gate 50 is rigidly countersunk screw fastening 14.

The collar 13 is sized to pass through the opening 1I but is larger in diameter than the Width of the opening 12 so that when the shaft section 61 is in its position of Figures 7 and 8 With a portion thereof engaging the slot 12 and with the collar 13 bearing against the forward side of the bar 18, the

shaft sections 63 and 61 are retained against rearward displacement by the abutment or col- 'lar 13. The slot 12 is sufficiently wide to permit the shaft section 61 to revolve therein. By swinging the forward end of the shaft 61 upwardjly to. its. dotted line position of Figure. 1 the collar 1'3. is `aligned with thev inclined opening 1| so that. it. may slide. rearwardly therethrough for displacing the shaft sections. 63. and 61 rearwardly of the tank 2| and said collarmay similarly be displaced forwardly through the opening 1| when said shaft` sections. are. displaced forwardly. The shaft section 6.1 rocks on thev universal joint` 68 relatively to the shaft section 63.

A rigid arm is xed toV and extends upwardly from the downturned end. 3;3, of the conduit 3|. An L-shaped lever 16 is pivotally connected. at its apex by a. pvot pin 11 to the. arm 1.53 above the level of the, yokes 38` and includes a shorter leg 18 which. extends forwardly from the pivot 11 over the intermediate portion of the connecting bar 42. A small wheel 19 isjournaled on the terminal of the lever arm 18 and is disposed above and rides-,on a horizontal plate 80 which is secured tothe upper edge of the intermediate portion of the connecting bar 42. The longer arm 8| of the lever 16 extends upwardly from the pivot 11 andv terminates adjacent the level of the shaft section 63. One end of achain or other flexible member 82 is connected to the upper portion of the leverl arm 8| and said chain is adjustably connected at its other end to the rear end of the shaft section 63 in any suitable manner as by a hook 63 having a shank which is swivelly connected to a coupling element .84 which is preferably threadedly connected to the rear end of the shaft section 63, asbest seen in Figure 5.

The upper portion of the tank 2| is provided with a manhole 85 normally closed by a cover 36.

The hose coupling 21 is attached to the pump inlet 25y and the opposite end of the hose 26,y not shown, issubmerged in a drainage vat, not shown, into. which liquid manure is drained from a barn or stable by cleaning the barn or stablev with a pressure water hose. The pump 24 is operated for drawing the liquid manure, from the underground drainage Vat through the hose 26 and pump 24 and outlet conduit 28 into the tank2| for filling. or substantially filling said tank. The coupling 21 is then disconnected from the pump 24 and the machine IU is ready to be drawn through a field to be fertilized by a` tractor or other draft vehicle, not shown,A coupled to said machine by its draft tongue, l1. circumstances the tank 2| may be filled from an underground vat by a gravity feed where the machine can be placed below the level of the vat and under such circumstances the pump 24 may be dispensed with. Assuming that the abutment 1.3 is disposed forwardly ofV the bar` 10- and that the gate valve 50 is in a closed position, the machine Mlmay be transported with the tank 2| filled wit-hout any of the liguid manure being dispensed therefrom until the area to be fertilized is reached. During such movement the valve 41 will also be held in a closed position by the springs 46y displacing the yokes or val-ve supporting frames 38 upwardly. To place the machine I0 in operation thelhand wheel 6.9KV is initially revolved by the draft vehicle operator frm the operators seat of the draft vehicleto. thereby turn the shaft sections. 63` and 61- to revolve the gears 53 and 51 for rotating the sleeve 54 in a direction to draw the rod 5| upwardly therethrough to thereby open the gate valve so that the liquid manure, not shown, will flow through the outlet conduit 3| for 'filling the. valve housing 34. The operator-then swings the shaft section 6-1` upwardly and pulls it forwardly to move the--collar13 through the Undercertain opening 11| and thereafter displaces the shaft section 6.1 downwardly to latch the shaft. sections 63 and61 in forwardly displaced positions. This forward movement of the shaft sections results ina forward pull being exerted onv the. lever arm &|2 through the chain 82 to rock the lever 16 clockwise on its pivot 11 as seen in Figure 5. When this. occurs, the. cam wheel or roller 19. rides on the plate orsurface 80 as the lever arm. 18 swings downwardly for displacing the connecting bar 4,2 and yokesk 3.8 downwardly to thereby move. the valve 41 downwardly out of engagement with. the outlet slot 31 to its open position of Figure 5 so that the liquid manure. can be dispensed through said slot 3.1 and deflected forwardly and rearwardly by the upper portion of the valve 41 to broadcast the liquid manure onto the earth. The gate valve is normally maintained in a` fully opened position so that the valve housing 34 is maintained lled with the liquid manure. The pressure of the contents of the housing 34, conduit 3| and tank 2| will produce a forced feed of the liquid manure through the slot 31 to effectively ush through any particles of the liquid manure or any trash or foreign matter carried thereby which would tend to clog a part of the slot 31. Furthermore, should any clogging occur which is rendered unlikely due to the length and width of said slot, the shaft sections 63 and 61 can be displaced rearwardly as previously described to allow the springs 46 to forcibly return the valve 41 to a closed position in the slot 31 to dislodge any particles therein back into the housing 3.4. The extent of opening of the valve 41 may be varied by a longitudinal adjustment of the collar 13 on the shaft section 61. The gate valve 56 is maintained open at all times except when traveling to and from an area to be fertilized.

It will thus be seen that a machine of extremely simple construction has been provided wherein only a single long and relatively large discharge opening is provided through which liquid fertilizer is dispensed so that choking of the outlet is rendered substantially impossible. Further, should any clogging of the outlet slot 31 occur this condition can be promptly eliminated by the operator grasping the hand wheel 69 to swing the Shaft section 6.1 to its dotted line position of Figure 1. With the shaft section 61 th-usdisposed, the shaft sections 63 and 61 may be reciprocated longitudinally by the operator from the tractor seat for moving the valve 5,1 between a fully closed position in engagement with the slot 311 and a fully opened position, considerably below its normal open position as illustrated in Figure 5 by moving the shafts 63 and 31 in both directions considerably beyond their positions of Figures l and 2. When the valve 41 is in a fully opened posi-tion, wellv below its position of Figure 5, the slot 3;'1 will be fully exposed to allow any obstruction to be flushed outwardly therefrom and when the valve 41 is moved to a fully closed position any obstruction lodged in the slot 31 will be displaced back into the valve housing 34 and ordinarily broken up or agitated so that when Y the valve 41 again assumes an open position such particles can pass through the valve opening 31 without becoming lodged therein. This momentary closing of the valve 41 will also build up a back pressure in the housing 34 and outlet 3| which will additionally assist in clearing the opening -31 of any obstruction. It will thus be seen that the valve 4.1 additionally functions to produce an agitating process. After the obstruction hasV been cleared and with the valve 41 in an open position and the shaft section 61 swung downwardly to its full line position of Figure 1, the hand wheel 69 is released to allow the springs 46 to return the parts to their positions of Figure 1 with the valve 41 in its adjusted open position as governed by the abuttment member 13.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously be restored to, without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as hereinafter dened by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

l. A liquid manure spreader for unprocessed liquid manure comprising a large tank, a mobile support for said tank, an inlet conduit for supplying liquid manure to the tank having a discharge end opening into the upper portion of the tank, an outlet conduit extending from said tank adjacent its bottom, a valve housing into which said outlet conduit discharges, said Valve housing being disposed transversely of the longitudinal axis of said mobile support, said valve housing and outlet conduit being relatively large in cross section internally, said valve housing being disposed below said outlet conduit and having a single relatively wide slot in its bottom portion extending to adjacent the ends thereof, an elongated valve disposed below the valve housing sized and shaped to fit into and completely close said slot when in an elevated position, a frame reciprocally mounted on the valve housing for vertical reciprocating movement having a lower portion secured to and supporting valve, means for displacing the frame upwardly to position the valve in a closed position in the slot, and manually actuated means adapted to be operated from an end of the machine disposed remote to the valve housing for displacing the frame downwardly to move the valve to an open position beneath and out of engagement with said slot.

2. A machine as in claim l, said valve being circular in cross section and sized to t into the slot when in a closed position for clearing any foreign matter therefrom and forming a deflector, when in an open position, for deecting and spreading the liquid manure discharged from the slot.

3. A machine as in claim 1, said valve housing having open ends affording access to the interior thereof and closures detachably engaging and sealing said open ends of the valve housing.

4. A machine as in claim 1, and guide members fixed to and depending from the valve housing beyond and adjacent the ends of said slot and engaging the ends of said valve for guiding vthe valve in its movement to and from a closed position.

5. A machine as in claim l, and a pump mounted on the mobile support and connected to the inlet of the tank and adapted to be detachably connected to a supply conduit for liquid manure for pumping the liquid manure into the tank.

6. A machine as in claim 1, said means for urging the frame upwardly to position the valve in a closed position comprising expansion springs interposed between the upper portion of the frame and the upper part of the valve housing, and guide rods fixed to and rising from the valve housing and extending reciprocally through the upper portion of the frame for guiding the frame in its vertical sliding movement relatively to said valve housing, said expansion springs being mounted onsaid rods.

'1. A machine as in claim 1, said manually actuated means for displacing the frame and valve downwardly comprising a pivotally mounted lever having angularly disposed ends, one end of said lever being disposed over a portion of the frame, a roller journaled on said lever end and bearing on said frame portion, a shaft extending longitudinally of and slidably supported on the tank, means adjustably connecting one end of said shaft to the other, upstanding end of the lever and the other end of said shaft being adapted to be manually engaged and moved longitudinally of the tank in one direction to rock the lever to swing the first mentioned end downwardly for displacing said frame downwardly relatively to the valve housing.

8. A machine as in claim 1, said manually actuated means for displacing the frame and valve downwardly comprising a pivotally mounted lever having angularly disposed ends, one end of said lever being disposed over a portion of the frame, a roller journaled on said lever end and bearing on said frame portion, a shaft extending longitudinally of and slidably supported on the tank, means adjustably connecting one end of said shaft to the other, upstanding end of the lever and the other end of said shaft being adapted to be manually engaged and moved longitudinally of the tank in one direction to rock the lever to swing the first mentioned end downwardly for displacing said frame downwardly relatively to the valve housing, and means for adjustably latching said shaft in a position t0 retain the valve in various open positions relatively to said outlet slot.

9. A machine as in claim 1, said manually actuated means for displacing the frame and valve downwardly comprising a pivotally mounted lever having angularly disposed ends, one end of said lever being disposed over a portion of the frame, a roller journaled on said lever end and bearing on said frame portion, a shaft extending longitudinally of and slidably supported on the tank, means adjustably connecting one end of said shaft to the other, upstanding end of the lever and the other end of said shaft being adapted to be manually engaged and moved longitudinally of the tank in one direction to rock the lever to swing the first mentioned end downwardly for displacing said frame downwardly relatively to the valve housing, a gate valve interposed in said outlet conduit, a pair of beveled gears, bearing means supporting said beveled gears in meshing engagement, means forming a threaded connection between the gate valve and one beveled gear for moving said gate valve to and from open and closed positions when said beveled gear is revolved, and means slidably and non-rotatably connecting the other beveled gear to a portion of said shaft whereby the gate valve may be actuated by rotation of said shaft and said rst mentioned valve opened by a sliding movement of the shaft, each independently of the other.

JAMES H. BRODIE.

REFERENCES CITED l The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

l A UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

